AuthorTopic: Pennsylvania (Read 223281 times)

What is the connector called near Holidaysburg and Duncansville where both US 22 and I-99 are connected? I know tat someday US 22 is to go further east to bypass Holidaysburg so the road is left signed TO I-99 on the US 22 end where it leaves at the turnpike style exit for PA 764 and for unidirectional US 22 from I-99. PennDOT will never assign temporary route numbers for partially built freeways, so how does the public identify these referenced number freeways or how does Altoona area residents reference this?

My question with that project and others is why a wider left shoulder wasn't implemented? And why a taller barrier wasn't used throughout?

I'd guess right-of-way, and money to buy more of it (and possibly a genuine desire to not take/displace property as much as possible) As for the barrier height.... I've wondered that myself, and am not sure what their guidelines are for how tall they build it in any given place.

Quote

Additionally, what will happen with the Monongahela River crossing? Will it be dualised? It's not out of the realm of possibilities - after all, the I-64 bridge over the Kanawha River near Nitro, West Virginia will be twinned and is of a similar type of facility.

They just got done with a fairly major rehab with it just a year or so ago... so I wouldn't expect anything even more major like a dualization or complete replacement anytime soon. What you see is what you get for probably the next 2 decades or so. Though if they ever want to do anything more significant, I am curious as to what solution they would come up with. In addition to the bridge itself, the freeway on either side of the river is crapped in a pretty tight, developed corridor.

Logged

I don't have opinions anymore. All I know is that no one is better than anyone else, and everyone is the best at everything

I had to drive through Pennsylvania last night and I was impressed with how the new New Stanton (I-70, Exit 57) has turned out. It hasn't killed off the business in town and Sheetz was practically overflowing at around 10 PM.

My question with that project and others is why a wider left shoulder wasn't implemented? And why a taller barrier wasn't used throughout? It was either a 4' left shoulder with a low Jersey barrier or a 4' left shoulder with a high Jersey barrier. And either asphalt or concrete - the latter only seemingly used at New Stanton.

Additionally, what will happen with the Monongahela River crossing? Will it be dualised? It's not out of the realm of possibilities - after all, the I-64 bridge over the Kanawha River near Nitro, West Virginia will be twinned and is of a similar type of facility.

I can't wait for the remainder of I-70 to be rebuilt. It was anxiety inducing in the rain, with hydroplaning an issue throughout. Being up against the left barrier, there was no margin of error.

PennDOT likely would have had to spend a shitload of money to buy all the properties necessary to give I-70 full interior shoulders. There's also the issue of undermining, with a lot of abandoned mines in the area, and a wider highway being a heavier highway that makes mine subsidence more likely. As for asphalt versus concrete, there could have been multiple contractors on the project, or the cost of concrete spiked, or something like that.

Forgive me if this was already posted, but I couldn’t find it anywhere.

On March 1st, The Express of Lock Haven reported that PennDOT applied for a $43 million INFRA grant to be used toward the $200 million cost of constructing a complete, high-speed interchange between I-80 and I-99. The article described PennDOT, the regional planning commission, and state and U.S. legislators as being unified in their support of allocating the resources for construction if the federal grant is approved.

I figured this was about to happen. I posted last year that PennDOT had cleared several acres of trees near the I-80/99 interchange. The article is a little vague though, it says that the plan is still being pursued - not really a confirmation?

I figured this was about to happen. I posted last year that PennDOT had cleared several acres of trees near the I-80/99 interchange. The article is a little vague though, it says that the plan is still being pursued - not really a confirmation?

From what I saw, this past weekend, PennDot is still clearing trees around I-80 & US 220/PA 26 (I-99).FWIW, I noticed plenty of trees being cleared away from I-80/79 as well. Not sure if that is harbinger of things to come.

I figured this was about to happen. I posted last year that PennDOT had cleared several acres of trees near the I-80/99 interchange. The article is a little vague though, it says that the plan is still being pursued - not really a confirmation?

From what I saw, this past weekend, PennDot is still clearing trees around I-80 & US 220/PA 26 (I-99).FWIW, I noticed plenty of trees being cleared away from I-80/79 as well. Not sure if that is harbinger of things to come.

I don't think there is any actual plans to do anything, construction wise, with I-80 & 79 - so that might actually just might mean that the I-80/99/US-220 area is just maintenance clearing (especially if they haven't secured the money)

Logged

I don't have opinions anymore. All I know is that no one is better than anyone else, and everyone is the best at everything

Something I noticed in PennDOT's iTMS thing is that, with PennDOT using an SR 6xxx designation for under construction routes, SR 6023 is still in the system in Lancaster County on the Goat Path. It gives an error when you try to view it, though, so I guess something is set up wrong. It doesn't appear on the Type 10 maps or traffic volume maps either. What does appear in the Type 10 and traffic count maps is the bridge over Horseshoe Road, which for some reason has a separate designation of SR 1124. That too gives an error in iTMS.

Since it doesn't seem to appear in any maps, I'm not sure if the SR 6023 designation extends fully from the newer stub at US 30, or if it just exists on the part that was ever graded, from Millcross Road to just past PA 772. There doesn't seem to be an SR 8xxx or SR 9xxx designation set aside for the ramps at PA 772.

The US 219 expressway under construction in Somerset County gives a similar error in iTMS, though the CSVT sections will work, and highlight an invisible road section in the map.

Beginning Monday, June 18, ramp meter hours at the following seven ramps will be operational weekdays from 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM and weekends from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM:

• Route 3 East (West Chester Pike) ramp to I-476 South in Marple Township;• Route 3 West (West Chester Pike) ramp to I-476 South in Marple Township;• U.S. 1 ramp to I-476 South in Marple Township;• U.S. 1 ramp to I-476 North in Marple Township;• Baltimore Pike ramp to I-476 North in Nether Providence Township;• Baltimore Pike ramp to I-476 South in Nether Providence Township; and• MacDade Boulevard ramp to I-476 North in Ridley Township.

Beginning Monday, June 18, ramp meter hours at the following seven ramps will be operational weekdays from 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM and weekends from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM:

• Route 3 East (West Chester Pike) ramp to I-476 South in Marple Township;• Route 3 West (West Chester Pike) ramp to I-476 South in Marple Township;• U.S. 1 ramp to I-476 South in Marple Township;• U.S. 1 ramp to I-476 North in Marple Township;• Baltimore Pike ramp to I-476 North in Nether Providence Township;• Baltimore Pike ramp to I-476 South in Nether Providence Township; and• MacDade Boulevard ramp to I-476 North in Ridley Township.

This would be the four lane section...

This makes sense, because that section often backs up on weekends too. Guess all those NIMBYs in Swarthmore like breathing exhaust fumes that come from the gridlock that arose from not having those extra lanes.

Drove down I-676 last night and all new signs have been hung up on the rebuilt portion west of Broad St. On the east end with the interchange with I-95, all of the signs for 95 have had their Trenton controls replaced with New York by greenouts which leads me to the new sign for I-95 that was put up on 676 East coming off of I-76. Whoever designed the sign had no forethought at all for the completion of 95 as it lists controls for Trenton and Chester instead of New York.

Drove down I-676 last night and all new signs have been hung up on the rebuilt portion west of Broad St. On the east end with the interchange with I-95, all of the signs for 95 have had their Trenton controls replaced with New York by greenouts which leads me to the new sign for I-95 that was put up on 676 East coming off of I-76. Whoever designed the sign had no forethought at all for the completion of 95 as it lists controls for Trenton and Chester instead of New York.

I mentioned similar on the I-95/PA Turnpike interchange thread and I'll repeat here.

Guess on my part, the replacing Trenton with New York signs for those ramps signs may have been a more recent development/last-minute (& unnecessary IMHO) change. In theory/principle, the continuation of using Trenton for those I-95 northbound signs up the new interchange would've still been valid because the Delaware Expressway (at least up to the US 1 Morrisville/Langhorne interchange) is still the quickest way for one to get to Trenton from Center City. A Trenton/New York control city combo would've been a more appropriate sign change/update.

Speaking of ramp meters, PennDOT just announced the start of smart traffic systems for I-76 between King of Prussia and US 1. The first phase will take about a year (plus 6 months of testing) and involves variable speed limits and queue detection/warning. The shoulder lanes and ramp meters will come later.

Drove down I-676 last night and all new signs have been hung up on the rebuilt portion west of Broad St. On the east end with the interchange with I-95, all of the signs for 95 have had their Trenton controls replaced with New York by greenouts which leads me to the new sign for I-95 that was put up on 676 East coming off of I-76. Whoever designed the sign had no forethought at all for the completion of 95 as it lists controls for Trenton and Chester instead of New York.

Whoever designed the (95) sign had no forethought at all for the completion of 95 as it lists controls for Trenton and Chester instead of New York.

I've seen this quite often in NJ where two overlapping projects have no coordination whatsoever. The two project teams might as well have been in different countries. You would think that at some point along a project's design, someone in DOT would've said "Hey, why are we still using 'Trenton' on this sign?

Drove down I-676 last night and all new signs have been hung up on the rebuilt portion west of Broad St. On the east end with the interchange with I-95, all of the signs for 95 have had their Trenton controls replaced with New York by greenouts which leads me to the new sign for I-95 that was put up on 676 East coming off of I-76. Whoever designed the sign had no forethought at all for the completion of 95 as it lists controls for Trenton and Chester instead of New York.

Is 676 still signed as an “exit” when it goes down to the lights?

Technically yes. There's no exit tab on the BGS as 676 doesn't have numbered exits in PA but yeah there's still a gore sign there.

Whoever designed the (95) sign had no forethought at all for the completion of 95 as it lists controls for Trenton and Chester instead of New York.

I've seen this quite often in NJ where two overlapping projects have no coordination whatsoever. The two project teams might as well have been in different countries. You would think that at some point along a project's design, someone in DOT would've said "Hey, why are we still using 'Trenton' on this sign?

A couple of things:

1. Those I-95 ramps signs along I-676 are the original ones that date back to the opening of the eastern portion of the Vine Expressway circa 1991 (the signs themselves were actually erected circa 1990 prior to the highway opening with the ones nearest to active roadways being covered).

2. As previously stated, and forgive me for sounding like a broken record, the decision to replace the Trenton legends with New York ones was likely made very recently. The original thought was since the highway itself, the Delaware Expressway, will still be the main access from Center City to the Trenton area regardless of the highway changing numbers along the way (due to the I-95 rerouting); why change it (or provide wider spacings on signs)?

Whoever designed the (95) sign had no forethought at all for the completion of 95 as it lists controls for Trenton and Chester instead of New York.

I've seen this quite often in NJ where two overlapping projects have no coordination whatsoever. The two project teams might as well have been in different countries. You would think that at some point along a project's design, someone in DOT would've said "Hey, why are we still using 'Trenton' on this sign?

A couple of things:

1. Those I-95 ramps signs along I-676 are the original ones that date back to the opening of the eastern portion of the Vine Expressway circa 1991 (the signs themselves were actually erected circa 1990 prior to the highway opening with the ones nearest to active roadways being covered).

2. As previously stated, and forgive me for sounding like a broken record, the decision to replace the Trenton legends with New York ones was likely made very recently. The original thought was since the highway itself, the Delaware Expressway, will still be the main access from Center City to the Trenton area regardless of the highway changing numbers along the way (due to the I-95 rerouting); why change it (or provide wider spacings on signs)?

The way ekt8750 put it, they were brand new signs just installed. If they were 17 year old signs, then yeah there would be no reason to have forethought for such a signage change.

The way ekt8750 put it, they were brand new signs just installed. If they were 17 year old signs, then yeah there would be no reason to have forethought for such a signage change.

Trust me, those I-95 signs along I-676 and 7th Street are indeed the original 1990-91 vintage signs that just had New York masked over Trenton.

Personally, this BGS would've been a prime candidate for my Trenton - New York control city pair recommendation (such would have to be placed horizontally (there's room) rather than the traditional vertical stack).

Drove down I-676 last night and all new signs have been hung up on the rebuilt portion west of Broad St. On the east end with the interchange with I-95, all of the signs for 95 have had their Trenton controls replaced with New York by greenouts which leads me to the new sign for I-95 that was put up on 676 East coming off of I-76. Whoever designed the sign had no forethought at all for the completion of 95 as it lists controls for Trenton and Chester instead of New York.

Is 676 still signed as an “exit” when it goes down to the lights?

Technically yes. There's no exit tab on the BGS as 676 doesn't have numbered exits in PA but yeah there's still a gore sign there.

True but with the old signs it was signed as "exit only" on the BGSs as well instead of like a split. I was wondering if the new signage has 676 is still an "exit only". TBH I wonder how many people in the area (I dont know too many philly people compared to NY or DC) even realize 676 continues into NJ